Let's keep this going!
Chapter Quote:
"Montague's just been found in a toilet, Sir."
~Draco Malfoy
Chapter 5
Ziva
Somewhere in the Gryffindor House, a clock struck eleven. All of the students were asleep as Ziva stealthily got up from her bed. She slipped on some jeans and a sweatshirt, not really caring about her appearance, although she made sure her hair still looked good. She went out to the stairwell where she conducted the Disillusionment charm. It made her turn nearly invisible. Dumbledore, near the middle of the second term during her third year, had called upon Ziva, Jade, and Elliot to come to his office. The girls had been petrified, fearing they'd done something wrong. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
"Hello girls," the headmaster greeted kindly. The all replied with timid hellos. "I assume you are wondering why I called you three here."
"Yes, sir," Ziva answered.
"You see, you three are have been specially chosen by your teachers at my request. You three show an unusual talent for Charms and Transfiguration. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Disillusionment Charm?"
"It rends the wizard or witch nearly invisible, totally invisible if the caster is very advanced in it," Elliot explained.
"Very good Miss Toadbottom. Ten points to Gryffindor. Yes, and while most parents would discourage me from saying this, I believe you three to be quite rational. I do believe a Second Wizard War is coming, with of course Mr. Potter being at the center of it. That war I believe will take place at Hogwarts, the final battle at least."
"Sir, I'm not following you. What does the Second Wizard War and the Disillusionment charm have to do with us?" Jade queried.
"Inquisitive minds, I see. Potter will one day go on a quest. When, I'm not exactly sure. However, for the final battle to take place here, Voldemort will need his followers on the inside to help him get the others on the outside in as well. I am putting you three in a dangerous position but only because I believe you can pull it off without getting injured. You will need to cause quite a ruckus for all the teachers for Voldemort to show that Hogwarts will not submit willingly. But, to do so, you will need to be invisible so the chance that you will be harmed will be lessened significantly. And that is why I have called you here. Now, I do not want any one of you to feel obligated, but do know that this meeting must remain secret to everyone around you. If one of you wishes not to be a part of this, I completely understand but I will perform the Obliviation Charm on you to make sure this stays a secret."
Ziva didn't hesitate in stepping forward and agreeing to go through this. Jade and Elliot were quick to follow.
From that night on, the girls met with Dumbledore every Sunday during their third year. They mastered the charm by the end of the year. The headmaster ordered them to continue their lessons for the first term of their fourth year as well but to not practice during the summer so they wouldn't get expelled by using underage magic.
Ziva smiled at the memory, still surprised that out of everyone Dumbledore could've chosen, he'd chosen her, Jade, and Elliot.
Once the spell was completed and Ziva couldn't see any part of herself, she headed quietly out of the Gyrffindor house. The Fat Lady portrait was bewildered when she saw no one come out after she'd opened her door. Ziva ignored the tired ramblings of the portrait and proceeded down to the second floor. She had received a note that morning from Malfoy saying he'd mastered the charm and to meet him in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom instead of the trophy room. She padded lightly down the Grand Staircase to the second floor and sidled along the wall in case a teacher or two passed her. Her heart pounded; she didn't want to get caught but she also was looking forward to seeing Draco again.
After checking her surroundings, making sure no teachers would be around to hear the door opening, Ziva entered the bathroom and closed the door softly behind her. She turned around and called out softly, "Draco?"
"Over here," his voice replied. Ziva let out a small sigh of relief as she walked over to the stalls. Draco was leaning against the wall underneath the circular window, eating a green apple.
"Hey, there," she whispered, sitting next to him. He had his shoulder-bag next to him; he pulled something out for her. It was an apple.
"Hey, I was starting to think you weren't going to come," he admitted. He handed her the apple. "Here, thought you might be hungry. Took these from the common room."
"Thank you," she said, biting into it. The apple was delicious. "And sorry for coming late. It took forever for all the girls to fall asleep."
"So, how's your first day back?" he inquired, looking at her.
"Tense."
"How so?"
"My house is taking sides on whether or not Voldemort is back and if Harry is telling the truth," Ziva informed.
"Do you think he is?"
"I'm not going to talk about that," she said with a smile. "What about you?"
"It's good to be boss," he claimed satisfactorily. Ziva looked at his Prefect badge which was gleaming in the moonlight that came from the window above.
"What do you think of that new professor? Umbridge, I mean."
"I like her ideals and I think she's absolutely right although I'll admit, I don't like the part about not being able to use magic."
"What?!" she exclaimed, choking on the piece of apple she'd just eaten. Draco pulled some pumpkin juice out of his bag and handed it to her. She downed it so she'd stop choking; thankfully it worked. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"So what's this nonsense about not being able to use magic?" she queried, leaning back up against the wall and looking at Draco.
"The ministry thinks that Dumbledore is creating some sort of army of students to help him take over the as Minister of Magic. I'm not sure what Fudge's rationing on that is but the old man had to have given him some reason. That's the reason Umbridge is here. She's to make sure Dumbledore isn't doing such a thing."
"Oh that's ridiculous. Dumbledore has no time for being Minister of Magic. He loves being headmaster too much. Besides, he's been offered the position multiple times and refused. Why would he want to take it now?"
"Well he is siding with Potter on this whole thing. Perhaps he wants to take the position to mobilize the wizarding world against Lord Voldemort?"
"Half the wizarding world doesn't even believe him or Harry!"
"Maybe we should stop discussing this," Draco said with a chuckle. "You're getting agitated… and loud. Wouldn't want any teachers hearing us."
Ziva blushed. "Sorry. I just think Fudge has gone mental. So has Pansy laid off of you any?"
"Sort of. I can tell she still wants to be together but I don't want to be with her like that. Not yet."
"Why don't you want a girlfriend?" Ziva was curious. Draco could pretty much have everything he wanted. He already had money, doting parents, power in his house. All he needed now was a girlfriend and he'd have the perfect life. What was stopping him?
"I don't really have time. Between classes, being a prefect, sneaking out to see you, it's near impossible."
"I'm one of the reasons you won't have a girlfriend?" Ziva wasn't sure if she should be offended or flattered.
"Yes, but that doesn't matter. I'd rather have these fun rendezvouses with you than have a girlfriend. I like talking to you much more than the Slytherins. I have to think one certain way, even if I don't believe it."
"What do you mean?"
"Fudge for example. Maybe I do think he's absurd in thinking Dumbledore wants his position. Maybe I do think it's ridiculous that we can't use magic in Defense Against the Dark Arts. But I can't say that to them. I'd be out-casted. I can tell you thoughts like that though. You won't judge me… at least I think you won't."
"I won't judge. I might disagree, but I respect your opinions. Did you know the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin?"
"I vaguely remember that, actually. Why didn't you get put into my house?"
"I guess it knew what I'd think later down the road and knew that I'd be fighting against my entire house if I had been put into Slytherin. At least being in Gryffindor, I have people on my side to back me up when the other side is arguing with me."
"I can understand that." They fell silent, both going into their own thoughts when a high-pitched giggle made them look up. Myrtle was sitting on one of the stall doors, staring at them.
"Bad children, sneaking out in the middle of the night to see each other," Myrtle remarked in her shrill voice.
"Hello, Myrtle," Ziva greeted warmly. She knew the ghost could be annoying but if she pissed off the ghost, she'd likely go telling Harry and that would be the end of her seeing Draco and the end of all her friendships in Gryffindor… and the school.
"What are you two doing?" the ghost inquired, floating down and lying on her stomach, bracing her transparent face on her hands. Ziva wondered why Myrtle's hands didn't go through her head while bracing it. Being a ghost, Ziva thought Myrtle would just go through anything, including herself.
"Chatting," Malfoy replied. "You see, we're not really supposed to be speaking to each other."
"Gryffindors and Slytherins, you know?" Ziva pointed out.
"Yes, yes, I know very well. What are a Slytherin and a Gryffindor doing together? Oh! Are you two dating?" Myrtle queried, showing an avid interest in the answer. Ziva realized that even in death, when there was a good piece of gossip, girls did not change. Even she liked to hear the gossip of who was going out with who and who dueled who and who fought who and all that fun stuff. Of course, she didn't go around talking about it but she still wanted to know what was going on so in case someone did bring it up in conversation, she'd know what they were talking about.
"No, we're not dating," Ziva responded shyly, somewhat embarrassed by the ghost's question.
"Oh? Well then… you, Slytherin, your name is Draco Malfoy right?"
"Um, yes," he replied hesitantly.
"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to when Miss Gryffindor doesn't show up, I'll be so very happy to listen," Myrtle said, settling herself between the two live people and resting her head on his shoulder, looking up at him. Ziva was barely containing her laughter.
"Thanks… Myrtle," Draco said, giving her a small smile, obviously uncomfortable with the attention by Myrtle. "Uh, can I ask you a favor?"
"Of course handsome!"
"Could you not… tell anyone about us? It would be disastrous for us if anyone found out and then you wouldn't have weekly visitors."
"I think I can do that. You got yourself a deal!" Myrtle agreed.
"We're going to be meeting weekly?" Ziva questioned, leaning forward so she could see Draco in person and not through Myrtle.
"Well, I hope we can meet weekly. Can you imagine if we went a month without seeing each other? Do you know how long that discussion would be? Hours! At least!"
Ziva could actually see his point, especially if she was going to rant about things. Her tangents could go on for twenty minutes about one subject.
"Since you made the date for this meeting, I'll send you an owl for the next one, okay? But I do think we should be going. It's almost midnight," Ziva pointed out.
"Has that much time passed already?" Draco seemed genuinely surprised. "Shame, I was enjoying our conversation."
The two stood up. Myrtle floated up while questioning, "How are you going to get back to your dorms unseen?"
"Disillusionment charm. We're both very good at them," Ziva answered.
"Very clever. Don't get caught," Myrtle said, giggling. She shot up and down into a toilet. Ziva waited a few moments before whispering to Draco, "I think you have a new admirer."
"Take that Potter," he joked. It was no secret that the moaning female specter had a thing for Harry Potter so Ziva didn't feel guilty laughing softly at his remark.
Ziva and Draco simultaneously made themselves invisible with the Disillusionment charm. It was weird having someone else was in the room, knowing you couldn't see them. Maybe this is what it was like to be a ghost, being completely invisible to the world. At times, Ziva could see herself actually enjoying the privacy.
"Ziva?" Draco said quietly.
"Hmm?"
"Okay, I didn't know if you were still in here. So you'll send word to me? By owl?"
"Yeah, I'm thinking Tuesday so that's… five days from now."
"That'll work. If it can't, I'll send you an owl as soon as possible."
"All right; don't make me go waiting for hours or else I'm going to think that you don't want to have these meetings anymore," Ziva said slyly.
"The day I stop coming is the day we're over, and that's not going to happen. I'll see you soon," Draco's voice said. It was quite odd talking to an invisible person. They said good night and walked out the door. Ironically, and a bit awkwardly, they went the same direction because they both had to go to the Great Staircase to get to their houses. However, neither spoke a word in fear of getting caught by an unseen teacher.
Ziva managed to get to her dorm room without any issues. She collapsed on her bed, and fell asleep with a smile.
So, Draco and Ziva's first nightly meeting. What did you guys think? (Besides not liking Draco, SACarter). Review!